Leaving Neverland viewers have hailed the bravery of two men who spoke out to detail explosive sex abuse claims against Michael Jackson in the documentary Leaving Neverland which was aired in the UK last night.
Viewers reacted with disgust as James Safechuck and Wade Robson accused the pop star of abusing them as children in the two-part series. The first half finally aired for in Britain on Channel 4 on Wednesday.
However other viewers were more sceptical of the claims, which have provoked a fierce reaction from the singer's fans and family. The Jackson Estate has denied the claims made.
Some viewers said they were left “heartbroken” by the allegations the two men were molested by Jackson at his Neverland ranch when they were younger.
One wrote on Twitter: “How can anyone defend a 44-year-old man in a position of power, befriending children, their families, grooming them over a period of time, sleeping in bed with them for weeks.
"The images of him just looking at them are enough for me.”
Another wrote: “Anyone who still doesn’t believe he did it is delusional… I’m physically sick to my stomach he watching this.”
And another said: "It breaks my heart to see how they are struggling with what happened to them."
Krishnan Guru-Murthy, a news anchor for Channel 4, was among those who took to Twitter.
He wrote: “It’s very rare a TV doc changes the way you feel. Against all my ‘yeah we know all this stuff’ expectations @danreed1000 has done that for me with #LeavingNeverLand. Can’t listen to Michael Jackson again.”
But others jumped to the defence of the singer, with one viewer writing on Twitter: “It’s such a shame that we can’t hear Michael’s side of the story and we never will.”
Another wrote: “I'm only 30 minutes into this documentary but it's a shame Michael Jackson is dead because I'd love to hear what he had to say about it.”
And another said: “Massive fan of MJ. Don’t wanna believe it, so not going to.”
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It comes after fans gathered outside the Channel 4 headquarters to protest the singer’s innocence ahead of a documentary airing.
The crowds congregated at the broadcaster’s base in Horseferry Road, London, displaying banners with Jackson’s face covered by the word “innocent”.
The Jackson Estate has denied the claims and it has denounced the film in a series of damning statements. Jackson always denied the allegations made against him,
His nephew Taj Jackson has also blasted the film and claimed "sleepovers" including children at Neverland were innocent, while he also called the documentary "one-sided".
The two-part documentary will air over two consecutive nights, at 9pm on Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7 on Channel 4.
Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor Tom Porter described Leaving Neverland as “an extraordinarily compelling, yet moving film about two men whose lives were changed forever by one of the most famous men who ever lived.”
He said that Channel 4 was “immensely proud to have commissioned this film.”